So what’s new this year? Razer’s added yet another way to contact them in case things go south and honestly, it’s a no-brainer. The Synapse app, where you create light shows and macros and adjust fan speed, now features Feedback where you can quickly connect to a Razer representative. On the social media front, Razer’s solving problems on Instagram. Support documentation on the Razer Support site has been greatly expanded, adding even more guides and troubleshooting steps. In addition, the company’s finally added videos tutorials. But the company didn’t stop there. It also made some notable changes to it’s warranty, shaving two days off the repair turnaround time for in-warranty laptops, dropping it from five days to three. Plus, battery warranties have been extended to two years. Toss that in with the company’s speedy and knowledgeable agents and you’ve got the makings of a serious threepeat.
Razer gaming laptops: Brand rating and report card
Razer tech support
Web and social support
Razer continues to be one of the accessible companies on social media. You’ve got your usual suspects at Facebook (@Razer) and Twitter (@RazerSupport), but the company also has an active Reddit account under /r/razer as /u/RazerCustAdvocacy. The company has expanded its reach to Instagram (@razer_support). But as impressive as Razer’s social media presence is, the response times are even better. I jumped onto Facebook and messaged Razer’s page and asked how to find and configure the Hypershift key on my Razer Blade 15. After my initial messaging at 10:00 a.m. EST on a Monday, a Razer rep answered me four minutes later, informing me that holding the right Fn key will initiate Hypershift and that the key itself can’t be modified, but rather it can be used to create secondary functions for other keys including a mouse, which is the correct answer. Twitter took a little longer to get a response, but not much longer. It took six minutes for a representative to give the correct answer on how to adjust my laptop’s touchpad sensitivity complete with a link. Next, I jumped to Instagram and asked how I could make my laptop undiscoverable by other devices/networks. I asked my question at 7 p.m. and got a link that walked me through the process at 7:16 p.m. The Feedback section in the Synapse 3.0 app now allows you to report bugs, request features and contact customer support. It’s definitely quicker than going to the Razer support site for answers. Within seconds of explaining my touchpad problem in the allotted fields, I was speaking with a rep on live chat. I got my answer with in 3 minutes and 21 seconds. From there, it was time to go forum hunting. I started with Reddit where I found variations of my HyperShift question, but not the exact answer I was looking for. Although I did discover a plethora of third-party methods to potentially modify the functionality. Then it was time to visit the Razer Insider forums hosted on Razer.com where I found HyperShift topics relating to remapping the feature on a mouse, but not specifically related to a laptop. Mayhaps my question was a bit too basic. No0b that I am, I private messaged Razer.Casiel (you can also try Razer.Speedcr0ss or Razer.Meka), one of the official Razer handles to get my question answered and after about 18 minutes, I had my answer. And if the official Razer folks are visit, trying hitting up one of the company’s Vanguards, rabid Razer fans with an abundance of knowledge and the will to share it with others on a volunteer basis. Before you dive into the Insider forums, you can also check out the company’s support pages which have a lot of helpful information. And if you’re a visual learner, Razer has added video tutorials to the mix. However, they could use a few that laptop-centric topics. Finally, I contacted Razer’s support chat (9 a.m.-1 a.m. EST, seven days a week) at 1:01 p.m. on a Friday to ask about changing the touchpad sensitivity. The representative walked me through the process, leading me to the correct menus in Windows 10. The process only took 8 minutes and 9 seconds. Lastly, If you don’t have a pressing issue, you can shoot Razer an email. Although the company says it can take up to three business days for a response, I got a correct answer to my HyperShift query in 27 hours.
Phone support
If you’re in the United States, most of your phone support will come out of the Philippines from 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. PST, seven days a week. Everyone else’s calls will come out of Malaysia and Bulgaria. And knowing that it’s the little things that count, if you visit Razer’s support site, you’ll see a notification about call volume, so you can decide if you want to contact a rep now or wait a little while. For some reason, it seems that tech wants to break down in the wee hours of the night or during the weekend. So I made my first call to Razer’s call center on a Saturday at 8:15 p.m. EST and asked how to find and remap the Hypershift key. The agent asked for my serial number and which version of Razer Synapse software my Blade 15 was running (Synapse 3.0). From there, the rep explained in great detail the ins and out of the feature, how to access it and that Razer doesn’t have first-party software that allows you to do what I wanted. The call took 4 minutes and 46 seconds. During my second call (Monday at 3:07 p.m.), I reached out to learn how to adjust my touchpad’s sensitivity. After being placed on hold for a brief period, the agent asked which version of Synapse I was running. When I told him, he led me into where you adjust lighting and fan settings and told me to look there. But I pointed out that I was looking to adjust my touchpad sensitivity, not my mouse’s, the agent righted the ship and directed me to the Windows settings menu and sorted me out. The call took a total of 16:32. I made my final call on Thursday at 6:35 p.m. to ask if there was a way to keep other devices from connecting to my laptop. After the usual serial number rigmarole, the Razer rep wasted no time in guiding me through the Windows setting menu, primarily the Network & Internet settings. We made quick work of the task and I was hopping off the call after only 3:18.
Warranty
As per the industry standard, Razer laptops come with a one-year warranty. That coverage includes free shipping both ways, in case you need to send the laptop in for repairs. However, the company has extended the battery’s warranty to two-years for 2022 systems. Knowing that some consumers are all about the DIY, Razer actually encourages you to swap out the RAM and storage on your own with no worries about voiding the warranty. The only time you’ll have to shell out money for your laptop, outside of the initial purchase is if you want accidental damage protection. Then you’ll have to pay a visit to Razer’s three-year, extended-warranty program, RazerCare Elite which costs $299. The $199 Essential program also covers you for three years, but it doesn’t include accidental damage protection. Is your notebook out of warranty? Never fear, Razer will still provide chat, phone and email support for free. However, you will have to pay for repairs.
Bottom line
Razer just pulled off a hell of a hat trick. The company hasn’t taken its foot off the gas, continuing to provide stellar customer service in an expedient fashion. They continue to tinker and streamline, adding even more ways to contact them via social media and creating a way to contact support via the Synapse app. They even started adding videos. On the warranty front, the company has some of the most generous features. I definitely appreciate that they extended battery warranties on this year’s model of laptops. And no one’s going to say no to free shipping both ways. My only complaint about Razer remains, that it has yet to achieve 24/7 phone coverage. But overall, Razer offers the best tech support in the industry.
Scorecard and WinnersRazerAppleLenovoDellAsusAcerMicrosoftHPGoogleMSISamsungGigabyte/Aorus
